Edinburgh Airport welcomes new United Airlines Washington DC route

The capital cities of Scotland and the USA are now directly connected for the first time following the start of a new daily seasonal route between Edinburgh and Washington D.C.

United Airlines flight UA147 took off from Edinburgh Airport yesterday afternoon after an inaugural ceremony including music, cakes, gifts for passengers and bagpipes for a traditional Scottish welcome and send off.

The daily service to Washington Dulles will operate on a Boeing 757-200 and will operate until 4 October. It connects Edinburgh to 63 North American destinations via United’s Washington Dulles Airport hub.

Edinburgh Airport chief executive, Gordon Dewar, said: “This fantastic addition to Edinburgh Airport will link our two capital cities for the first time and strengthen the already strong links between Scotland and America.”

He added: “We fly to more than 150 destinations worldwide and we’re always looking to establish new direct links to destinations across the globe and offer greater choice to the 13.4 million people who travel through Scotland’s busiest airport ever year.”

United’s managing director for sales in the UK and Ireland, Bob Schumacher said: “Our new flight strengthens our international route network and provides our customers from Scotland with greater travel choice, with almost 70 non-stop connections from Washington, D.C. to other destinations across the U., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.”